Part 3: The Dictatorship Period

INTRODUCTION

The study of propaganda practices developed during the dictatorial period requires the theoretical definition of certain key concepts. The conceptual clarification of these terms contributes to understanding the mechanisms through which power attempts to shape perceptions and control the public sphere.

Now you will read a series of definitions and their specific difference. 

PROPAGANDA:

• a) A technique for implanting an idea, an opinion, or a mindset into the recipient of the message (suggestion technique).

• b) Persuading through symbols that influence public opinion on controversial issues (symbolism technique).   (Types: white, black, grey)

FAKE NEWS:

Fake stories deliberately presented as authentic journalistic information. Their goal is the intentional deception of the public to serve political agendas (propaganda) or to achieve financial gain.

DENIAL OF FACTS:

The psychological, social, or political stance in which an individual or a group rejects the existence, significance, or truth of documented historical or contemporary events.

• Note: Everything is easy when you control the appropriate mechanisms.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES:

The creation of confusion through mechanisms that spread fake news, which are, however, linked to the concerns and fears of the public.

IMAGE:

The perception that others have of us and our identity.

• Note: We do not exist without our image—and whoever "crafts" it, holds the power.

TARGETING – THE CREATION OF ENEMIES:

A strategic practice (social, political, or psychological) in which an individual, a minority, a social group, or an institution is isolated, demonized, and deliberately presented as a threat to society as a whole.

• Note: No non-democratic regime can remain in power without external and internal enemies.

DISTORTION:

• a) Exploiting errors or gaps in another party's speech and/or image in order to present them as completely different from who they actually are.

• b) Presenting fake news as true.

• c) Using words, labels, and adjectives that shift the weight of the news/information to a point other than what is truly important.

Question for Reflection:

What is the difference between then and today? What didn't we have back then? What do we have in abundance now?

The answer to this requires examining the phenomenon within its historical context.

Having completed the study of the specific historical periods covered previously, try to identify in which of these propaganda was systematically utilized as a means of shaping public opinion, keeping the previous activities in mind 

• Metaxas Dictatorship

• War and Occupation

• Civil War

• Post-Civil War State (mistrust, oppression, national-mindedness / "ethnikofrosyni")

• The 1960s (the beginnings of dissent / questioning) – the international environment  

Instability, inequality, social unrest, dark conspiracies 

Let's move on to a more recent period!

Images often serve as carriers of historical memory. Observe the faces displayed in the images below. What do you know about them? Which period of Greek history do they bring to mind? 

Ioannis Metaxas                                -         Georgios Papadopoulos 

Watch the video and answer: how does G. Papadopoulos describe the situation in Greece? Does he use literal or metaphorical language? Taking into account the definition of propaganda, do you detect elements of propaganda in his words? 

Look at the images and watch the video. What does the trowel symbolize, and what did the regime aim to achieve through this symbolism? (Im. 1)

Does image 3 confirm or refute the dictator's words? 

Let us now observe the different forms through which the Junta's propaganda was expressed in daily life, education, art, and news media.

The Junta and the Youth

In 1969, the junta proceeded with the establishment of a military-style youth organization, the 'Alkimoi' (The Valiant), gathering over 20 thousand young men and women.

Study the images of the Alkimoi. What image of youth did the regime attempt to create?

Search for the characteristics of the 'ideal youth' as presented by the Junta.

Think about what the 'control' over young people's appearance reveals about the regime's ideology

Football and the Junta

Examine the way in which the Junta utilized sports and public events.

What message did it intend to convey?

Celebrations and Ceremonies

Identify elements of exaggeration in the ceremonies you will watch in the video below. How are they linked to propaganda? 

The kitsch of the tsamiko 

Censorship Under the Junta

• Katharevousa (an archaic form of formal Greek) is mandated in schools. Tragic poets, philosophy, sociology, and law are banned.

• The music of Mikis Theodorakis is prohibited, and a restricted list of approved plays is issued to the National Theatre.

• Freedom of the press is forbidden. Journalist Eleni Vlachou halts the publication of her newspapers and magazines.

• Censorship is imposed even on cartoons and photographs sent by journalists abroad. 

The Status of Women

Analyze the female role model projected by the Junta, based on the image provided to you. Which perception regarding her position in society does it express? 

Wooden Language

It is the term used to describe a way of speaking based on codified, standardized, and stereotypical expressions.

Study the characteristics of wooden language and explain why it serves as a tool for propaganda.

Characteristics of Wooden Language

• Message repetition

• Exaggeration and Pompous Style: The use of pretentious or obscure words aimed at creating an impression rather than achieving communication.

• The signified carries a different meaning from the signifier

• Archaic - Katharevousa language

• Avoidance of direct, personal emotions or true pain, resulting in a discourse that sounds cold and mechanical.

Which propaganda techniques do you detect in the following newspaper headlines from the dictatorship period? 

• Use of Demotic Greek  

• Appeal to emotion  

• Leader projection / Cult of personality  

• Use of the first-person plural  

• "Wooden language"  

• Distortion of concepts   

• Promises for the future 

You can find the anwers here.

Complete the table below by comparing the language of political discourse during the Dictatorship of the Colonels and in a Democracy.

You can find the correct answer here.

True/False Activity

Mark the following statements as True or False:

1. In a democracy, political discourse strengthens the concept of freedom.

2. The discourse of the Colonels can be characterized as archaic (Katharevousa-based), messianic in its tone, torrent-like, and ultimately incoherent.

3. Political discourse in a democracy is characterized by phrases that encourage civic participation and responsibility.

4. The language of the dictators is dominated by the ideological triptych: Religion, Homeland, Family.

5. Democracy uses authoritarian phrases and restricts individual expression.

6. Through a discourse that tolerates no criticism and the repetition of their message, dictators seek to render the citizen passive.

7. During the dictatorship, the words "democracy, homeland, and religion" retained their true meaning.

8. In dictatorial regimes, the signifier carries a different meaning from the signified

The answers are here.

Cinema and Television

Evaluate the Junta’s use of cinema and television by observing the images and information provided to you. What reality did it attempt to construct?

Unknown War (Agnostos Polemos): Unknown War is a black-and-white military-espionage television series broadcast on YENED during the 1971–1974 period.

Newsreels (Epikaira): Cinematic newsreels served as the primary propaganda tool of the military dictatorship (1967–1974). These short films were mandatory screening before main features in cinemas, crafting a virtual reality filled with infrastructure projects, visits to rural villages, and "enthusiastic crowds" cheering the dictators. 

The Polytechnic Uprising

History demonstrates that propaganda cannot abolish reality. The regime's sugarcoated image was shattered by the Polytechnic Uprising, where the youth dynamically expressed their refusal to tolerate state coercion.

Compare the image presented by the Junta with the events of the Polytechnic Uprising. What do you conclude regarding the limits of propaganda? 

Concluding the presentation of the dictatorship period and the propaganda mechanisms utilized, it is useful to engage in a more active approach to the topic. The following activities enable you to apply the knowledge presented and to approach the era not only as a historical event but also as a lived experience.

1. Utilizing the knowledge you gained from analyzing this period, formulate a short anti-dictatorship slogan. The goal is for the slogan to reflect values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, or resistance against authoritarianism.

2. Write a one-page diary entry adopting the perspective of a teenager living in Greece during the 1967–1974 period. Refer to experiences, thoughts, emotions, fears, or expectations you might have had as a young person of that era, utilizing elements presented throughout this unit. 

Thank you for your participation !!!😀